The Westminster men's soccer team will play a pair of road games in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action this weekend. The Griffins open the week at Colorado Mesa on Friday at 5:30 p.m. They will then play at Regis on Sunday at noon.
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Both games of the weekend will be carried live on the new Griffins TV Game Central portal that is available at portal.stretchinternet.com/westminster. The coverage will be produced by the home institution.
 
There will also be live stats available for both of the contests and be available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER MEN'S SOCCER
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins.
 
Fans can stay connected with Westminster Men's Soccer by following @westminstersoccer soccer on Instagram.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster enters its first road weekend of the season with a 1-3 overall record. The Griffins are 0-2 in RMAC action and are currently tied for eighth in the conference. This week's action is part of a span of games where the Griffins will play five of six games away from Dumke Field.
 
The Griffins are averaging 4.75 shots per game and scoring 1.0 goals per game. They put 47.4 percent of their shot attempts on goal and have recorded two assists. Westminster is taking 2.75 corner kicks per outing and they have been whistled offside four times.
 
At the defensive end, Westminster is has allowed eight goals on the year and they are eighth in the RMAC with a 1.96 goals-against-average. The opposition is taking 15 shots per game with 51.7 percent of them on goal. The Griffins have a team save percentage at .742 percent with 23 saves.
 
Jonnathan Rodriguez is the team leader with four points after scoring two goals in the game against MSU Denver on September 18. Ivan Lezama and Matthew Warne have each scored one goal. Lezama and Jordan Jones have the team's two assists.
 
Taylor Ruff and Sean Lyne have made 11 saves apiece in splitting the four games in goal. Ruff has a team-best 1.44 GAA and .786 save percentage while also recording the only win. They are both tied for third in the RMAC by making 5.50 saves per game.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Griffins began RMAC play by dropping a pair of home games last weekend. They trailed MSU Denver 3-0 late in the second dhalf before Rodriguez scored two goals in 1:14 of game time to cut the deficit to 3-2. The visiting Roadrunners then added an insurance goal just 28 seconds later to seal the Griffins 4-2 fate.
 
Westminster then dropped a 2-0 decision to UCCS on September 20. The Griffins trailed from the 43rd minute on and were only able to get three shots in the loss compared to the 15 by the Mountain Lions.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Colorado Mesa – The Mavericks begin the week at 3-2-1 on the season and they are 0-1 in conference action after a 2-0 home loss to MSU Denver on Sunday. That loss snapped a three-game winning streak and was their first home loss of the year. Roy Abergil leads the team with three goals and nine shots while Moshe Perez has two assists. Briley Guarneri has made 20 saves in goal with a 1.20 GAA.
 
CMU is 2-0 all-time against the Griffins with both games being played in Grand Junction. The last meeting was a 3-1 Mavericks win on September 26, 2008.
 
• Regis – The Rangers will start the week at 2-2 overall this season and they are 1-1 in RMAC play. After losing to Adams State 2-0 to open RMAC play, Regis came back to take a 3-0 win against Adams State. They are scoring 1.5 goals per game while taking 15 shots per contest. Eduardo Belmar has scored two goals to lead the Rangers and Sawyer Lincoln has taken a team-high 12 shots. Christian Nicolosi has made 30 saves with a 1.18 GAA.
 
Regis holds a 10-3-1 all-time lead against the Griffins and they are 7-3 in games played in Denver. The last meeting was a 4-2 Griffins win at Regis on September 27, 2007.
 
STABILITY AT DEFENSE
Aaron Rees anchors the Griffin defense as the senior enters the week having played in 60 games and 5,124 minutes as a Griffin. Rees has started 26 straight games going back to the 2013 campaign. He played all 367 minutes of the first two games of the season and was a key part of a defense that finished 2014 with a goals-against-average at 1.02.
 
TWO FOR RODRIGUEZ
Sophomore Jonnathan Rodriguez scored two goals against MSU Denver and currently leads the team in goals and points. The multi-goal game was the second of his career and he has recorded the past two multi-goal games by the Griffins. Rodriguez has now scored six goals in 22 games played with the Griffins.
 
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Westminster begins its first season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2015 and they were picked to finish tied for 10th in a poll of the league's coaches that was released last month. The Griffins received 18 points in the poll to tie with fellow conference newcomer, South Dakota Mines. Colorado Mines was chosen as the favorite to win the RMAC title this season. The RMAC schedule features 14 games overall with 10 counting – five home and five road – towards the season standings.
 
UP NEXT
Westminster has two games on the slate for next week. The Griffins will travel to Durango, Colo., to play Fort Lewis on October 2 before returning home for on October 4 game against Adams State at Dumke Field.